hemlock
by cedricsowner
Summary: David Rossi takes up a dangerous game to protect a friend. As usual centered around my favorite character, but I'm starting to like Hotch, too, so I allowed him a little more room. Slight references to episode 2.6. Mind the rating!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement.**

Hemlock

_It is an established fact that Socrates had the chance to evade his death sentence. His friends had arranged his escape, but he insisted on staying in prison. Breaking the law, he explained, would defile everything he stood for and delegitimize all his teachings. So, for the sake of truthfulness, he died. _

In Virginia it was four o'clock in the morning. In London it was already nine. Office hours. So why in the world should Superintendent Leighton not call and interrupt the uneasy sleep Detective Inspector Kapoor had obtained way past midnight? The superintendent was upset: MP Brown had pressurized him again. The politician wanted results, fast. Ishika Kapoor glanced over the crime scene photos, transcripts of witness statements and lab reports she had fallen asleep among. Actually she was making a hell of a progress – only she couldn't tell her superior. Therefore she was forced to listen to him repeating for what felt like the millionth time how much her further career depended on the outcome of this case.

"I think I've figured something out", she hissed as soon as Leighton had disconnected the line."But I can't prove a thing, so what am I supposed to do? Tell the MP I think I know who killed her son but can't arrest the perpetrator? Would that make anything better?" Angrily she rustled with the papers scattered on the sheets and around the bed. She had actually slept on the cursed shopping list which she had put together under great difficulties: An itemization of all the things George Brown had bought in the month prior to his death. Something about the list bugged her, but she couldn't establish what exactly. Ishika longed for a sympathetic ear but knew better than calling her probably soon to be ex-boyfriend. Two weeks ago he had asked her to get married. Instead of answering him she had taken up a case 3.500 miles away from home. "Kind of a statement in itself", she mused.

Still furious, she grabbed some documents and shoved them to the floor. Her personal life was a mess. No news there. But up to this point her professional life, her career at Scotland Yard, had always been a safe haven, a way to compensate for what was amiss on the home front. She wouldn't let a bunch of blooming profilers take that away from her. But how? These people were not only a team of extremely capable investigators, they were also deeply attached to each other, almost like a family. Ever since they had found out she was suspecting one of them, they had closed their lines and let her run into one wall after another. Rossi, that arrogant bastard, had played every dirty trick in the book on her.

Come to think of it this was actually one of the parts of the story she didn't fully understand. Ishika knew from first-hand experience how far loyalty could push people, but everything had its limits. She had seen the team's record, had studied the way they had handled cases in the past, especially the Elle Greenway incident. These BAU people were highly-trained professionals who had enforced the law at great personal cost on more than one occasion. Everything they did betrayed a deeply entrenched set of values they all followed. How could they decide to break with it now, even for Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner? She couldn't think of a lucid explanation. She just couldn't.

Outside, the sun rose. It was six in the morning now and a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement.**

"Reid! Honestly – didn't you learn a thing at FBI academy? How could you let him get away?" Morgan was worried, not really angry. Surveillance wasn't the young doctor's specialty, that was why they had given him the very early morning shift. They had assumed Hotch would be in bed and fast asleep. Unfortunately, he must have been aware of their observation and seemed to have waited for exactly this moment, knowing full well that Reid wasn't completely up to the job. So now they had two problems: a) Hotch knew they were watching him and b) he had escaped them.

"It's not easy to fool Hotch." Emily patted the young agent's back comfortingly. Reid nevertheless hung his head in shame. "Where in the world could he have gone?", she asked the others.

"I have no idea", Rossi snarled. He was worried, too, but unlike the rest of the team he was also very angry with Reid. All that talk about his high IQ… What was that IQ good for if he didn't even manage to fulfill the simple assignment of watching a house? Some sort of a genius… "Garcia, how much longer will it take you to hack Hotch's GPS signal?", he inquired impatiently. They had all come together in Garcia's apartment. An early morning gathering at the BAU would have been way too conspicuous. DI Kapoor was already askance enough, no need to give her ideas. "The sooner we find him, the better."

"Everything was okay in the direct aftermath. Why is he so unstable now?", Garcia asked while typing with supersonic speed.

"DI Kapoor's appearance was bound to unsettle him", Reid answered. "We mustn't forget the long-term consequences of the drug-induced memory loss. Hotch is obsessed with principles. He demands strictly rule-observing conduct from others but he is even harder on himself. Just imagine what it must have done to him, being told that he's suspicious of committing one of the crimes he loathes most and having no way to tell with certainty that these accusations are incorrect. It's not easy, dealing with such a blow to your self-image."

"Maybe we shouldn't have tampered with his memory", JJ said. This was directed at Rossi, whose idea it had been in the first place.

"If we hadn't done that, Hotch would be in prison by now", the senior agent stated with utter self-confidence. "You were there, weren't you? He heroically insisted on an investigation despite knowing there was no way to prove his story was true. He has rivals in the Bureau merely waiting for such a chance! They would have put him on trial and he would have lost. We saved him from himself. If that British bitch hadn't shown up weeks after the incident everything would have been forgotten by now. We made the right decision."

"I got it!", Garcia exclaimed. Then she stared at the screen. "You won't believe where he has gone", she said.

Rossi looked over her shoulder. "Reid's interpretation is correct", he finally snorted, eyes on Garcia's monitor. "Aaron is trying to establish who he really is."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement.**

Astounded at the sound of the knock, Ishika Kapoor looked through the loophole, only to become more astounded. He, of all people! Here! At this time of day! What kind of a maneuver was that? Quickly, the DI threw on some clothes and opened the door. "Agent Hotchner", she said, stepping aside to let him in. "That's a surprise…"

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this unholy hour, but it's rather difficult to escape my team's vigilance. I had to grab the first chance I got", Hotchner explained. The contrast between his well-chosen words and his appearance was striking. He looked as if he had crawled through bush work. Plucking a dry leaf from his rumpled business suit, the agent made the impression of someone who was coming apart at the seams and trying very hard to hide it.

"Your team is watching you?", Ishika inquired, frowning.

"They think I don't know, and I probably wouldn't have noticed Morgan or Rossi, but Reid's surveillance tactics could use some honing…"

"Why would your team do that?", she asked, wondering what this was all about. Was this another trick, devised by David "Bugger" Rossi? For a law enforcer, the senior agent commanded over a rather disconcerting amount of criminal energy.

"I don't know", Hotchner replied. He looked very weak. She motioned him to sit down and he practically collapsed on her bed frame. "I have no idea why they are doing what they are doing. That's why I'm here. I want to know what you found out. I know you're suspecting me of killing George Brown. Since he was Hailey's boyfriend, I'm not surprised to be on the list of suspects, but you seem to have zeroed in on me. Why?"

The DI couldn't believe her ears. This was cheap, practically an insult to her intelligence. "You know that you are my chief suspect and you still expect me to tell you what I found out? What would _you_ say if a suspect asked you something like this?" This had to be one of Rossi's tricks. It just had to be. No one was that naïve. Or that desperate? Hotchner was really looking crestfallen, the way he was sitting there on her bed frame. His eyes were clouded and way too deep in their sockets. He looked as if he hadn't slept for days.

"I don't remember anything of that night", he told her. "I vaguely recall leaving my office the previous day. Next thing I know I wake up next to Prentiss half-nakedly, my house is full of empty bottles and Strauss and Rossi are at the door, wanting to talk to me about some bureaucratic regulation issue. There's nothing in between. I've lost hours of my life! You think that I shot my ex-wife's boyfriend in the meantime – please tell me how you came to that conclusion."

"One more time: I'm not going to fill the chief suspect in on the state of the investigation!", DI Kapoor insisted, trying to decide if this was a potentially dangerous situation. Hotchner didn't seem to be in his right mind. On the other hand: The way he sat there – shoulders sagging, head lowered… She almost pitied him. A man with a marvelous record of solved cases. Maybe he had snapped just for a moment. Sometimes a moment was enough to ruin everything, as she had learned the hard way last summer. The DI assumed that Hotchner had been carried away by extreme anger when he had shot George Brown a.k.a. George Hamilton, the name the victim had used in the USA because – as his mother had explained – he hadn't wanted to be known as a British MP's privileged son.

Things like that happened, even to the best. A slight slip of self-control… But would his team cover up such a deed? "Think, Ishika!", she urged herself. "They must be absolutely convinced he was right killing that guy. So what did Hotchner tell them? And if his explanation was enough to satisfy them, why didn't they come forward? Why did they nevertheless hush everything up?" Suddenly it dawned on her: "Because they've got the same problem as you, Stupid. They can't prove a thing."

"I need to know if I'm a murderer…", Hotchner whispered, more to himself than to anyone else. Somewhere in the distance, a clock struck 6.30. Hotchner wanted to say something more, but a loud knock on the door stopped him before he could utter a single word.

From the knocking alone Ishika Kapoor was able to tell who was on the other side. "It's open!", she called. "Come on in, Agent Rossi."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement.**

"Collecting your lost sheep?", she asked ironically. It didn't escape her notice that Hotchner avoided looking at Rossi as he crossed the doorstep. Another BAU member came up behind the senior agent – imposing Agent Morgan. The DI assumed he had been the one who had driven the car away from the Unit Chief's house and set both body and vehicle on fire at a remote place.

"Aaron…", Rossi said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "… in a couple of hours you'll face a hearing concerning your breach of the anti-fraternization rules. And where do I find you? In the hotel room of yet another colleague?"

Hotchner jumped to his feet and shoved Rossi against the next wall so fast that neither Ishika nor Morgan managed to interfere in time. "What's going on here, Dave?", Aaron shouted at him. "Why are you watching me? What is this all about?"

"Nobody is watching you", the older man replied calmly. "You're showing signs of serious burnout, Aaron."

A vague idea took shape in Ishika's mind, floated around a little and finally found a place in the complicated puzzle she had been putting together for the past two weeks.

"Hey, man, calm down. We're just concerned, that's all", Morgan placated him, placing a hand on Hotchner's shoulder. "After this hearing everything will be back to normal."

"It's not the hearing that drives me mad!", the Unit Chief insisted. "Hours of my life are missing and somebody thinks I committed homicide during that time! All I want is the truth, but instead of helping me, those I trust most play games with me."

"You, of all people, should know that investigators can be mistaken", Morgan said. "Believe me, soon the dust will settle and everything will be alright. You're a bit rattled at the moment. Overworked after the last case – you still lack sleep, don't you? Stress can make you misinterpret things. Now come on, there's a hearing you've got to prepare for." He gently squeezed Hotch's shoulder and led him out of the room.

Just as Rossi set out to follow them, DI Kapoor spoke up: "Could I talk to you for a second, Agent Rossi?"

The experienced profiler couldn't help but think that under different circumstances he would have found the slender Detective Inspector very attractive, despite the fact that her eyes were of different color: One dark green, one deep chocolate brown . He guessed that in her free time she probably used contact lenses to cover the difference but left them at home when working to unsettle already nervous suspects. Well, it didn't work with him, that was for sure.

"What can I do for you, DI Kapoor?", he asked.

"I'd like to tell you a story", she said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement.**

Not showing any signs of incertitude, Rossi closed the door and occupied the only chair in the room. "I'm all ears", he said.

Watching the early morning sky taking on a lighter shade of blue with every minute that passed, Ishika began to speak: "I'd like to tell you a story abound an incident which took place…" Ishika pretended to be deep in thought "… four weeks ago. Around half past nine on a quiet Friday evening, a senior FBI agent and legendary profiler – let's call him Rossi, just for convenience – received a telephone call from a much younger agent. His name was… oh, I could never write a novel, I lack so much imagination, I can't even decide how to call my protagonists. Why don't we simply choose "Spencer Reid"? That's a nice name, isn't it? And I don't think the young doctor will mind… Okay… So Dr. Reid, who had wanted to pay his boss Aaron Hotchner a surprise visit and stumbled upon much more than he could handle, called Agent Rossi. I'm not quite sure what he said, but…."

As she spoke, the senior agent's thoughts drifted back to the terrible night four weeks ago. Everything indeed began with a very panicky call from Reid. His stammering was almost unintelligible but the words "Hotch" "shot" and "dead body" definitely stood out. "Keep him away from the phone!", Rossi told him. "I'll be right there!". On his way to the Unit Chief's house the profiler alerted Morgan, Prentiss, JJ and Garcia by conference call: "I'm not sure what this is about, but Reid was really upset. I expect you all at Hotch's house as fast as possible!"

Rossi was the first to arrive at his colleague's place. Reid's car and a grey SUV were parked in the driveway. The front door was off the latch. Inside, the profiler found a very particular scene – Reid pointing his duty weapon at a blood-spattered Hotch. "Reid, this is ridiculous!", the Unit Chief was just bellowing in his sharpest voice imaginable when his former mentor walked into the room.

"Reid, what is this about?", Rossi demanded to know.

"You said _Keep him away from the phone!_", Reid explained, obviously torn between loyalties and sounding very, very desperate.

"It's okay son, you can put down the gun now", the senior agent said, taking charge of the situation.

Reid relaxed immediately. So did Hotchner: "Thank God you're here, David. We must call the local police."

"First tell me what happened", Rossi stalled him. Outside, the other team members arrived. After they had gathered in his living-room, Hotch recounted the events of the evening and showed them the body in the kitchen. "We must call the local police. The longer we wait, the more suspicious it looks", he insisted afterwards.

No one answered. Utter quietness reigned for several minutes. Finally Morgan was the first one to break the silence. "Don't get me wrong, man, but it already looks suspicious."

They all agreed. Each of them except Garcia had enough courtroom experience to tell that Aaron's story wouldn't hold. A malevolent prosecutor would tear it apart in sixty seconds.

"You tell this story to a jury, you go to prison for the next twenty years", Morgan argued.

"I know the odds are against me, but…" Hotch started trembling. The shock was setting in.

"If it wasn't Hailey's boyfriend you might stand a chance", Prentiss interrupted him. "But things being as they are everyone will interpret this as a crime of passion, not as an act of defense."

Trying to steady his shaking limbs, the Unit Chief looked at his team members one after another. "I don't see where you're going with this", he finally said, confusedly.

"Then let us demonstrate", Rossi replied.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement.**

They didn't discuss the following steps much. Time was pressing. Rossi as the senior took control of the situation unquestioned: "The neighbors don't seem to have heard the shot, so there won't be an exact point in time for which Aaron needs an alibi – that's good. They must have noticed the mass of cars on the driveway, though. But we can use that to our advantage. Hamilton's car is not much different from ours: Gray, large… an unsuspecting witness will merely notice a bunch of vehicles in various dark colors. I don't think anyone will be able to recount exactly how many and what different types were here at a specific time. We'll say Hotch threw a spontaneous party to relax after the last case – that will explain us gathering here in the first place, the coming and going which will take place in the next few hours and the phone calls between us in the last half hour. We need to remove the bullet from Brown's chest. That will be messy, but we can't risk a coroner identifying FBI ammunition. Since it's a bit like dismembering deer, I'll do that. And we need to clean up the house… meticulously."

While speaking, Rossi had scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Reid. Reid had immediately left the room.

"What about the body?", Morgan asked.

"I think the best strategy would be to make it look like a case of carjacking gone bad. One of us must drive the body and the car a couple of miles away from here and burn it – this way there will be difficulties to establish the time of death and it will be harder to notice that the bullet was purposefully removed."

"I could do that", Morgan volunteered. "I'm fit enough to make it back on foot here afterwards and I know a suitable place for the burning from an old case."

"Let me check if the SUV had GPS first", Garcia chipped in. "I must hack the signal and leave a false trace with the satellite, then destroy the device's data storage, otherwise the police will be able to determine that Brown was here. If the thing gets destroyed in the fire afterwards, no one will notice it was wiped clean first and we're taking no chances…"

Prentiss offered to make everything look as if a party had taken place and JJ decided to take up the cleaning part.

"You're forgetting something", Aaron finally spoke up after listening to his colleagues. In his shocked state of mind it had taken him several minutes to fully grasp what they were up to. He couldn't believe his ears. "You don't really think I would let you manipulate and hush up everything? A man is dead and I killed him! This must be reported! I know it looks bad for me, but covering everything is a crime! I neither want any special treatment, nor do I want any of you to do something illegal, just because of some askew idea of loyalty."

"This isn't about loyalty, Hotch", Morgan opposed him immediately. "This is about friendship."

"We are enforcers of the law", Hotchner stated firmly. "I'm not going to let_ any_ of you…" this was especially directed at Rossi "… destroy what we represent. We must do this the right way."

"I thought you might say something like that…", Rossi answered, looking at Reid who was coming back into the room. The young doctor nodded gravely, his face white as a sheet. "Prentiss, Morgan, hold Hotch down", the senior agent bellowed sharply.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement.**

The attack came so fast, Aaron Hotchner didn't stand a chance. Both Prentiss and Morgan had been surprised by their superior's order, too, but they were well-trained enough to react right in time. JJ winced as the two agents pinned their struggling boss to the ground.

"What are you going to do?", Prentiss asked, wrestling with Hotchner's left body part, while Morgan was trying to keep the right one under control. This was damn difficult since the last thing on earth they wanted to do was hurt him.

"Poison him", Rossi stated flatly.

"A couple of years ago the BAU worked the case of a serial rapist in Seattle", Reid explained. "He used a cocktail of several in themselves harmless and common medicines to erase the short-term memories of his victims. I remember the recipe - if you want to call it like that - from reading the file…" He held up a glass of brownish-viscous looking water. "I mixed this from what I found in Hotch's medicine cabinet."

Morgan, still fighting a fiercely scrambling Hotchner, shot Rossi a quizzical look. "You want to wipe out parts of his memory? You really think this will work?"

The senior agent shrugged his shoulders. "It worked with the rapist's victims. I know it's a long shot and risky, but I can't think of anything else. If we want this to work, Aaron must play along and he only will if he overcomes his self-destructive sense of righteousness. _That_ will only work if we make him forget what happened in the last and the coming few hours."

"This is madness!", Hotchner shouted, trying desperately to break free from the iron grips of Prentiss and Morgan.

"Believe me, this is for your own good", Rossi said and kneeled down beside Hotch's head, fixing it between his thighs. Aaron's eyes went wide with terror. Face grave and deeply concentrated, the elderly man covered his friend's nose so that he was forced to open his mouth. Carefully and adamantly he filled the mixture into the Unit Chief's mouth, then held it shut until he was sure he had swallowed it all. Aaron rose up against the forces that restrained him one more time, but Rossi captured him in a tight embrace. He fidgeted in his arms a minute or two, then passed out.

"Thank God for your eidetic memory…", Rossi told Reid. Then he looked at Prentiss. "There's something else I've got to ask you to do. We must provide Aaron with the best alibi possible. I want you to say that after the party you stayed behind and spent the night with Hotch. Tomorrow morning I'm going to show up here with Erin Strauss in tow. I'll think of some pretext… a new regulation issue or whatever… I want her to find Hotch and you so you'll have a very credible witness to confirm your statement. I'm sorry… this will include awkwardness and a breach of the anti-fraternization rules hearing, but…"

"It's okay…" Prentiss nodded grimly. "I'll spent the night in his bed and pretend we had sex."

"What about Hotch's weapon?", Reid asked. "What if someone notices that it was fired recently?"

"Oh, tomorrow you'll feel a sudden urge to hone your shooting skills", Rossi said. "And you won't stop pestering Aaron until he caves in and gives you a lesson. Don't forget to let him demonstrate with his own weapon how to hold the gun when firing!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement**

Suddenly Rossi noticed that DI Kapoor had stopped talking. Instead, she was studying him intensely. The profiler wondered for how long she had been doing this. Damn, those eyes _were_ unsettling when you had something to hide. He cleared his throat. "Nice story."

"It would be a "nice result" if I could prove anything", she gave back.

"Life is unfair", Rossi replied dryly, regaining his momentarily lost balance. "You can't always win. Happens to the best of us."

"You're not saying I'm wrong, I notice", the DI stated, smirking.

"I'm not saying you're right, either", he pointed out.

"You must hate me", she mused. "It almost would've worked. You somehow erased Hotchner's memory of the particular evening and covered every trace that George Brown ever crossed his doorstep. You even provided perfect alibis. Who could be more believable than Strauss, what could be more believable than getting caught while breaking company rules? Hotchner played along well because he didn't remember a thing and had no reason to be suspicious. You were so lucky! Everyone interpreted Brown's death as a carjacking gone wrong… everyone except George Brown's mother MP Brown who somehow sensed that there was something fishy about the whole affair. That's where I came in. And I ruined everything…. My questions unsettled your poor Unit Chief and now all of you have got someone much more dangerous on your heels than any police detective could ever have been: Aaron Hotchner himself. Even if I left tomorrow, do you really think he would let go?"

"Even if things were they way you say – you've got a rich imagination, maybe you _should_ try writing novels – it wouldn't be any of your business", Rossi replied, fighting hard to keep his composure.

"Tell me what he said, Rossi! I must know which explanation he gave", she demanded with emphasis.

"How stupid do you think I am?", the agent asked annoyed. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"I'm talking to a man who is destroying his friends peace of mind." That hit where it hurt. "This affair is driving him insane, Rossi. Tell me what explanation he gave for his deed. I might be able to help you… If I knew what he said I could probably prove he was right killing Brown."

"Fat chance", the senior agent spat.

"His only chance", the DI bit back.

"He said Brown had told him he would torture and kill Haley", Jennifer Jareau, who had silently come through the unlocked door, said. Somewhere, a clock struck 8.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement**

"JJ!", Rossi hissed angrily.

"She's right, David", the young woman insisted. "It's his only chance. I've just seen Hotch at Derek's. He's totally out of his mind. We're destroying him much more than any prison sentence ever could."

"He said Brown threatened to kill Haley, his ex-wife?", DI Kapoor cut the developing argument short.

"Brown didn't simply _threaten_ her, he said he would definitely torture and kill her. Not the next day or the day after, but eventually and there would be nothing Hotch could do to prevent that because nobody, least of all Haley, would believe him, the ex-husband, telling horror stories about the ex-wife's new boyfriend", Rossi explained.

"So he shot him", Ishika concluded, nodding.

"Can you imagine telling this absurd story to a jury?", Rossi snarled. "We had no other choice."

"How could Hotchner be sure Brown wasn't joking?", the Detective Inspector demanded to know.

"He's a profiler, for Heaven's sake", Rossi shouted, getting up agitatedly. "He can distinguish between joke and earnestness.

"He said he would torture her…", Ishika Kapoor pondered. Suddenly very quick she retrieved a piece of paper from the bed. "Take a look at this", she said. "I compiled this under great difficulties. Brown preferably paid cash, so I had to talk to what felt like a million shop owners…"

"I don't understand", JJ said.

Rossi stared at the list for a long moment. Then his eyes lightened up. "Brown doesn't own a piano, does he?", he asked.

"He neither goes fishing", Ishika replied.

They both smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and intend no copyright infringement**

Hotchner later hardly remembered anything that was said at the hearing. Prentiss did the talking. In the end they were both reprimanded, but nothing serious came out of it. As they exited the room, Reid was waiting for them and led them to the BAU's conference room, where Morgan, JJ, Garcia, Rossi and DI Kapoor were already gathered. Nobody said a word. The Unit Chief sat down and waited. His complexion was white as a ghost's but he was more composed than a few hours ago. He sensed that something bad was coming, but at least it would be the truth.

Finally Rossi broke the silence and recounted to him what had happened in that fateful night four weeks ago. JJ had volunteered to do that, but he had insisted on telling Hotch himself. "I suggested everything in the first place", he had told her. "So it's my responsibility to bear the consequences."

At this, JJ had touched his hand. "We're in this together. Hotch is _our_ friend, not yours alone. We all decided to protect him. It didn't work, but at least we tried and that's to your credit."

After Rossi had finished, the Unit Chief was so outraged, he wasn't even able to look at his friends. "DI Kapoor, you have every right to arrest me", he stated firmly.

Ishika shook her head. "No, I won't", she said. "Your friends tried to find proof that you were right killing Brown. Garcia searched everywhere for homicides where ex-husbands or ex-boyfriends of the victims had been warned beforehand, but she came up with nothing. During my investigation, I compiled a list of all things Brown had bought in the month before his death. Don't ask me why I did that… it included an awful lot of legwork. I think I wanted some solid results because all the interviews I did with certain FBI agents led to nothing. It's plain hell, interrogating people who are experts at interrogating." She winked at Rossi. "The list bugged me somehow, but I couldn't quite grip it. Only when Agent Jareau told me how you explained your deed, it all made sense."

"The list contained three unusual items", Reid picked up. "A piano string, dry ice and a set of fishhooks. Brown neither owned a piano nor did he go fishing."

"We entered the terms into various search engines and came up with three unsolved murder cases in Europe where the victims had been tortured with these things", Garcia continued.

"DI Kapoor sent the investigating police officers in the European cases to question the victim's ex-partners if they had been warned beforehand that something would happen to their once-beloved. As it turned out, they had. Two had actually tried to persuade their former partners to be careful with their new lover, but no one believed them. And after the crime was committed, they didn't come forward because they feared the reaction of the press and their families. George Brown always used false names and had the means to disappear fast, so there was no chance to find him", Morgan added.

"You were right to shoot him", Prentiss emphasized. "Brown was a serial killer."

"You had no other way to protect Haley", JJ stressed.

"Without DI Kapoor, we wouldn't have figured this out, Aaron", Rossi said. "And she would have never put the list together if we hadn't let her run into one wall after another."

"If you decide to come forward now, you'll drag every single member of your team down", Ishika Kapoor stated flatly. "They all broke the law to protect you."

Hotchner nodded slowly. "I won't", he said. "I won't tell anyone." Was he relieved or grateful? He wasn't quite sure. His mind told him to be angry with his inferiors because they had broken practically every rule they had ever followed. But deep inside he knew they had done this out of love for him. This knowledge didn't only heal a lot – it also made forgiveness possible.

"What are you going to tell MP Brown?", Rossi asked as he escorted DI Kapoor to the elevator.

"The truth", Ishika replied, "I'm going to start with informing her that I've got evidence that her son was a serial killer. Do you think she'll insist on hearing the rest?"

Several hours later, alone in his office, Hotchner slowly dialed a telephone number. He listened to the free line signal for a while. Just when he finally wanted to put the phone down, someone answered the call. "Elle Greenway", a familiar voice said.


End file.
